West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Mowbray is used to his sides punching above their weight and he has to draw on such experiences to prepare for Saturday's trip to Arsenal.

While at Hibernian in the Scottish Premier league, he recorded two 3-0 wins and a 3-1 victory at Rangers and Celtic respectively, in the same season and sees no reason why his team cannot do the same at Emirates Stadium. After all, it would be a lesser achievement.

Mowbray said: “You have to put Celtic and Rangers situation into context. They are like the Big Four are down here but even greater.“They have 60,000 supporters every week and the next biggest teams, maybe Aberdeen or Hibs, are getting 15,000. Then there are the other sides that are playing in front of 3,000 and 4,000 every week.

“With due respect to the Premier League, the teams should be a little bit closer to the Big Four - and they are. Any team in the Premier League should be able to give one of the Big Four a game.”

While the difference between the top and bottom sides in Scotland is glaring, says Mowbray, the gap in quality in the Premier League is a little more subtle, often coming down to one or two players.

“I’m not saying that too many teams in this division are afraid of the Big Four because I don’t know that - I do not sit in their coaching meetings,” he said. “What I do know is that footballers win games and if you have Fernando Torres and Robbie Keane up front, or an Emmanuel Adebayor or a Robin Van Persie or a Wayne Rooney, then you have got a chance.

“Have we got players like that? No. What we do have is a young boy called Ishmael Miller who we hope can be a Premier League player and bang in some goals for us.

“[If he doesn’t] It won’t be through lack of his size, strength, power and pace but we have to see if the team can create chances for him, and if he can he create his own. We hope so. That’s why he was brought here.

“Some players were brought here to pad out the squad and to make sure we got into the top division and others, like Ish, were brought here to play in the Premier League because we believe he can.”

Although Mowbray’s personnel might change as Phase Two of his Albion plan gets under way, there will be no change in the way he prepares for games. So what is the secret to toppling giants?

Mowbray explained: “I study the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses every week and pick my team accordingly. That’s why you have a squad of about 20 players.

“On any given day, you might leave your star player out, or whoever is perceived to be your star player. If he is a flying right-winger you are not going to play him against the quickest left back in the league because he will be no good to you. You want someone out there who is a left-footer and jinker [sic] who cuts inside and renders the full-back’s pace useless.

“In the same way, it’s no good putting someone like Ishmael up against the fastest centre back in the world, especially if the other centre -back is a good passer but a bit ponderous.

“You try to pick your strengths against a team’s weakness. Now, where are Arsenal’s and Chelsea’s weaknesses?

“They don’t have any, but you have to sell a gameplan to players. “You might say ‘right, he is the best left-back in the world but get him one-on-one, knock the ball past him and knock him out of the way’.

“You have got to get the players buying into that and, once they do and it works, you are on to a winner.”